Building A Better Back to School

This year, the Stafford Elementary School is "Building a Future at Trojan Nation!" So the Stafford PTO/Homeroom Connect decided to follow the Lego theme with some special treats at last night's back-to-school bash.

Photo by Carrie Hildebrand

Though I "did my time" on the organizational level in PTO when my kids were in grade school, I'm always willing to help out with special projects.

Since the kids are returning to school, I have a couple of scientific hypotheses to offer about this recipe:

1)  It likely took more than one pass of the toothbrush to sweep away all the color from mouths after eating the vibrantly-colored icing. (I tested that hypothesis myself with my hands as I constructed my share of the treats)

2) The author of the recipe is either much quicker than I am in the kitchen or she fudged the completion time to make the recipe more attractive. (It said 30 minutes. I beg to differ. By the time I got all the components done and packaged, it was an  hour and a half later.) But I realize that I am a perfectionist. I had several gel and liquid colors in my decorating stash. I used three of them to try to achieve the correct green. I added a squeeze of brown to go along with several dashes of red to get the fire-engine red color. And I didn't realize that the recipe author had just covered the tops of the treats. I tried to cover the sides, too. And, you must admit, it does give them a more authentic Lego look! (For a YouTube tutorial from the original recipe author, go to the bottom of this blog post.)
 
Even though I didn't go the back-to-school party, my additional hypothesis is that these treats were a hit. (And if our granddaughters ever want a Lego party, do I have a deal for them!)

Lego Rice Krispie Treats

Adapted from The Stay At Home Chef

5 cups crisp rice cereal
1/4 cup butter
4 cups mini marshmallows
1 large bag M & M candies
Multiple colors cookie decorator icing - store-bought or homemade

Line a 13- by -9-inch baking pan with waxed paper or parchment paper. Set aside.

Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add marshmallows. Cook on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Pour in rice cereal. Stir well to coat.

Put cereal mixture in prepared pan. Spread out using another piece of waxed paper. Press evenly. Let cool completely. (You can refrigerate them for 5 minutes to speed the process.)

While the treats are cooling, separate the M & Ms into colors that match the icing you are using. You will need 6 of the same color per Lego Krispie.

Turn out Rice Krispie treats onto a wax-paper-covered cookie sheet. Cut into 18 rectangles (3 across and 6 down). Dip the top of the Rice Krispie treat into the icing and use a butter knife to smooth it out on top and down the sides (or just on top, if you prefer). Place M & Ms on top in parallel rows of 3 while icing is still wet. Repeat with remaining Rice Krispie treats in varying colors.

Once cookies are decorated, place on a flat, wax-paper-covered surface to allow frosting to dry. Store cookies in a covered container.

The original recipe used store-purchased Betty Crocker cookie decorator icing. I didn't have that available locally, so I made my own. I doubled this recipe to make enough to cover the 18 bars. If you don't frost the sides, you could probably get by with just one recipe.

Many of the icing recipes I found don't have butter in them but are mainly a combination of water and powdered sugar. But I figure if you're going to the trouble to frost something, it might as well taste good.

 Cookie Decorator Icing

Adapted from Food.com

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. corn syrup
2 tbsp. softened butter
1/4 tsp. almond extract
Gel food coloring - variety of Lego colors

Place sugar in mixing bowl. Combine milk, corn syrup, softened butter and almond extract. Add to powdered sugar and mix thoroughly. If it seems too thick, add a little more milk. (I did add some more milk, which I didn't measure. Sorry!) If it seems too thin, add more powdered sugar.

When it is the right consistency, divide into separate bowls, equal to as many colors as you want to do. Add gel food coloring, trying to match the color of the M & Ms. I already had red, yellow and green colors, so that's what I used. (I used three different greens I had in my cabinet, trying to get the color to match. It's still not a perfect match to the green M & Ms.)

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Today, I'm linked to Weekend Potluck, hosted by these bloggers. Check out the tried-and-true recipes from them and other foodies!

• Served Up With Love ~ Melissa
• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Sweet Little Bluebird~ Mary
• Mommy’s Kitchen~ Tina